Ties of Loyalty
By The Unseen Watcher
As always, Ruruoni Kenshin is not mine. The story idea is but I don't mind sharing. I DO mind being accused of stealing ideas, so forget if any should happen to think that for any reason, then you can just . . . *ahem * you're wrong. Everyone else, please enjoy.^_^;
Chapter 9
----------------------
Kenshin slowly came to the waking world, the ache in his shoulder muffled by the slightly fuzzy feeling he was experiencing. The drug seemed to have mostly worn off, and he found himself gazing at the wooden beams of a vaguely familiar ceiling. He frowned with the effort to recall just how, but was interrupted before he could think long.
"It's about time you came back from you little jaunt to dreamland." A well- known deep voice remarked sarcastically, originating from a few feet away. *That was it. Shishou's place.* Turning his head, Kenshin caught sight of his master sitting opposite him across the fire that crackled in the middle of the hut. Sake cup in one hand, his trademark redlined mantle flowed out from his shoulders to frame his large form before pooling on the floor around him.
Kenshin just gave him a look, to which Hiko responded with his usual torture-the-baka-deshi smirk. Carefully sitting up, Kenshin noted the tight bandage on his shoulder under his gi. Gingerly straightening his clothing with the opposite hand, he took a seat across from his master, the fire flickering between them. He blinked at the flames, shaking his head to clear it. He was still slightly groggy.
They sat in silence for a while. Hiko ladled out some hot soup, which Kenshin gratefully took with a slight bow. When he was almost done with the contents of his bowl, his master spoke up, abrupt as always.
"So are you going to tell me what happened while I was on temporary vacation? I must say that whatever you did caused quite a mess in my forest. I'll be cleaning up for weeks." The older master said gruffly, looking irritated.
Kenshin shifted uncomfortably, squirming slightly. He set his bowl aside, collected his thoughts, and began to speak, recounting the events of the last days, in exact detail. Hiko remained impassive, allowing him to finish without interruption. He took a sip of his sake, which had been hand delivered by a very remorseful Hashimoto-san just a few hours ago. (The man had apologized so much that Hiko wasn't able to get rid of him for a good 40 minutes after that).
*
The recitation wound to a close. Hiko finally looked up, his expression bored. "So, what are you current objectives?" He asked, appearing completely unconcerned about the answer.
Kenshin shifted around some more, folding his hands in his lap. "There are a few things I need to take care of in Kyoto tomorrow. I'll contact the Oniwabanshu to help with the clean up. They'll smooth out the details and put things into their appropriate places."
Himura's hands fiddled nervously in his lap. "After that I'd better head back to Tokyo. I've got a lot of explaining to do." He swallowed, sweating slightly.
Hiko's smirk widened, a hint of white glittering in the firelight. "Afraid of a bokken wielding girl, baka deshi?" He taunted, causing Kenshin to flush and squirm. Kenshin looked up, a slightly rueful amusement in his eyes. "No, of the temper behind the weapon and the strength of the swing, and she's not my only worry." He said, his smile wry as he thought of a row of angry faces.
Hiko raised a sardonic eyebrow, but didn't comment. They sat for a while in a comfortable silence.
Then Hiko chuckled. Kenshin looked up from the flames, his expression inquisitive but wary. What was so funny? Still chuckling, Hiko caught his eye and explained.
"Did you really sneak into their camp like a ninja and scare the spit out of them with that lame 'Leave now, before it's too late' line?"
Kenshin flushed, ducking his head in embarrassment. He sputtered something like it seeming like a good idea at the time.
By now, Hiko's shoulders were quivering. He clutched his sides in a futile effort to keep them from shaking with his laughter. Finally giving it up as a futile effort, he doubled over, laughing helplessly. Collapsing onto his back, his feet narrowly missing the fire, he managed between guffaws to sputter out to his flabbergasted student. "Why didn't you just dress up in a hooded robe, clank around a ringed staff, and say 'I AM TSI TSENG, THE END IS HERE!'?"
Kenshin was bright red, this time in humiliated indignation as he sourly observed his laughing mentor. "I'd like to see You do better in that situation." He muttered sulkily, crossing his arms and pouting.
Hiko laughed like he hadn't in years. The tension of the past week seemed to drain out of him. It was just so typically like his stupid little pupil. Gasping for air, he managed to sit partly up, his smirk having evolved into a full grin.
Hiko went on, barely warmed up. He was engaged in one of his favorite sports. Torture the Deshi. With each volley, Kenshin got redder, and more mortified.
"I'll never let you forget this one. This is even better than the time you . . ."
"Shishou!"
"After all those tricks you played, maybe I should call you 'Tengu deshi'.
"Shishou!!"
"I can just imagine you flitting through the trees like a demented squirrel. You must have thought you were so clever when you. . ."
**
In the surrounding forest, the wildlife was finally beginning to settle down after the strange week full of unsettling sounds and smells.
Those nearest a little hut built in a small clearing looked up, ears perked up in interest at the steadily increasing volume of voices.
One voice was raised in the plaintive tones of someone who had gone through a lifetime of being a target for constant verbal abuse.
The other followed in the mocking tones of the one who had spent that same amount of time deriving amusement from exasperating the other.
"SHISHOU!!!"
"DESHI!!"
***
The next morning, Kenshin stood outside his master's hut, the scene reminding him of a similar farewell just before that memorable fight near Kyoto not that long ago.
Hiko had regained his usual humor, helped along by his bout of laughter the previous night. Both of them stood there silently for a moment.
"Well? Get going." Hiko said gruffly, breaking the silence. Kenshin's amethyst eyes met dark onyx ones, and nodded. Few words were needed. Each more or less understood the other. Kenshin . . . maybe a little more than before. Tearing his eyes away from his master and childhood home, he turned, ready to leave when Hiko's voice stopped him.
"By the way-" the older man said, and as Kenshin looked back curiously, he found that the smirk had been replaced by a disapproving scowl. Kenshin started to sweat.
Hiko regarded him narrowly, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his head tilted to the side as if considering going on. He finally shrugged.
"After your first little disappearing act-" he said, pausing long enough to let Kenshin squirm "-I found myself having some rather strange dreams on occasion; of situations I'd never been in, and of people and battles I'd never seen."
He paused again, then continued, affecting the air of lecturing he often used. "Since the beginnings of Hiten Mitsurugi, there have always been two. The master, and his pupil. The type of one on one our style requires at times develops rather strong spiritual ties between the two." Hiko fixed the confused Kenshin with a glare. "-Which means, that all those bad nights I've had in the past two decades are YOUR fault." He said, snapping the words out.
Kenshin could only stare back, slack-jawed and too preoccupied with the new information to protest his innocence. On the surface, his master's reasoning sounded ludicrous. However, being who he was, he couldn't help but feel guilty at the idea that he'd been causing the other such discomfort without even knowing it. Not to mention the fact that it meant that his master had somehow seen what were probably quite a few of his less prouder moments. He swallowed nervously.
Hiko noted the slightly glazed look on his former pupil's face. Deciding against smacking him back to reality for the moment, he cleared his throat to regain the boy's attention and continued, his eyes thoughtful.
"Added to that, there is the fact that the technique is traditionally supposed to be passed completely at the master's death at the hand's of his pupil." His smile was wry. "The theoretical tie between them should naturally be broken in that supreme act. Never in the history of Hiten Mitsurugi have two masters existed at one time for more than a few seconds." Sharp eyes surveyed Kenshin. "Until now." he added meaningfully.
Kenshin didn't have a response to that, so Hiko plowed on ahead. "With two masters, the link would only be strengthened. Which is why you were able to sense my . . . that I was engaged in battle." He corrected his sentence rather hastily, looking momentarily non-plussed at his near admission. The rare sight caused Kenshin, despite his stunned state, to carefully conceal the rather suicidal urge to grin.
"Anyway-" his master was saying, easily transferring his discomfort into irritation as he glared at the younger man "-the bottom line here is that you'd better stay out of trouble. Disturb my sleep again with another of your little spats, and you had better start running before I arrive. If I have to come all the way to Tokyo to LODGE a complaint, you'll regret it." He finished, his voice having an unmistakable note of doom in it, and leaving no doubt of the sincerity of his statement.
Kenshin looked sheepish, but finally let his smile show. "Does this mean that you'll be coming to visit?" He asked, eyes wide and innocent. Hiko sputtered for a moment, then fell silent. He had been surprised. A rare feat, indeed.
Visibly gathering his dignity about him, he finally flung up his hands in feigned disgust at all baka deshis in general, turning quickly so that his expression wouldn't give him away.
"Well, what are you standing around for? Get off my mountain already." He said gruffly, his back still turned. He started to stomp toward his hut. "I have better things to do than talk to someone without enough brains to . . ." His voice quickly faded to half-heard mutters as he reached the hut. Pausing at the doorway, he lifted the cloth blocking the entrance. Just before it fell his dark-haired head turned slightly, affording Kenshin a brief glimpse of one ebony eye glittering behind the long fringe of his bangs. Then the rough cloth fell back into place, a thin but visible barrier between them.
Kenshin just stood there, staring in amazed disbelief at the structure before him. Finally he seemed to come to himself, turned and started to make his way back down the path leading away from that small clearing and the shabby hut sitting quietly in the middle of it. He walked away from the place where he had grown up, trying to persuade himself as to whether or not the look of pride and approval he'd seen in that frozen moment had been real.
**
The breeze ruffled his bright hair, and the sounds of the forest surrounded him as paced forward. Lifting his face, Kenshin let the soothing sensations wash over him.
There was still much to sort out, particularly with his own feelings. Soon he would be headed for his new home, where he had no doubt a rather painful welcome awaited him. He smiled ruefully. He would do his best to apologize for taking off without warning by himself, but he knew that he would say nothing of his master's need. He would keep the older man's dignity intact. He owed that much and more to him.
Kenshin loved his friends dearly, and would always be the first to jump to their defense. They were as near and dear to him as any had ever gotten. However, no matter how close they were, there were some aspects of his nature that only another Hiten Mitsurugi master would be able to understand, much less accept. His past, for one, in all its complete and bleak detail. And most important of all, the vow to help the people and to cherish life in all its forms. Both concepts could easily clash, as he had found out, the hard way.
Suffice it to say, that for all their seemingly opposite personalities and differences, they both knew and understood the other. Hiko had raised Kenshin, and taught him a way of looking at things that was uniquely their own.
For his friends, and himself, he would live the life of Himura Kenshin, a former assassin and peace-loving warrior.
But there would always and forever be a core part of him that would ever respond to his master as the often exasperated, but loyal, deshi. Some ties, can never be broken.
----------------------
Well, did you like it? A bit corny, but that's all right. Sometimes, that's the only way you can do something like this. I couldn't resist teasing that teasing scene. It was just so typical of their relationship.
Tsi Tseng: From Japanese mythology. Supposedly a priest/monk that travels the underworld, easing the suffering of the dead there. He carries around a ringed staff (Khakkhara), announcing his presence by the sound of them clashing together. The legend varies as to who he/she is. The rings can vary from 4, 6, or even 12. Also called the Narn-staff.
Tengu: a forest spirit, part man, part bird. It lives in trees and is known for mischief. Infamous for their trickery, they don't like being tricked in turn.
If there are any loose ends I forgot to tie up, or if you think it would have been fun to go a certain way, please tell me. I know I missed a few things and it would be fun to know how you'd have done it. Who knows, maybe I'll write the ones I like up and present them as alternate chapters? ~_~
This isn't all, folks. There's a little epilogue that you might enjoy too.^_^
By The Unseen Watcher
As always, Ruruoni Kenshin is not mine. The story idea is but I don't mind sharing. I DO mind being accused of stealing ideas, so forget if any should happen to think that for any reason, then you can just . . . *ahem * you're wrong. Everyone else, please enjoy.^_^;
Chapter 9
----------------------
Kenshin slowly came to the waking world, the ache in his shoulder muffled by the slightly fuzzy feeling he was experiencing. The drug seemed to have mostly worn off, and he found himself gazing at the wooden beams of a vaguely familiar ceiling. He frowned with the effort to recall just how, but was interrupted before he could think long.
"It's about time you came back from you little jaunt to dreamland." A well- known deep voice remarked sarcastically, originating from a few feet away. *That was it. Shishou's place.* Turning his head, Kenshin caught sight of his master sitting opposite him across the fire that crackled in the middle of the hut. Sake cup in one hand, his trademark redlined mantle flowed out from his shoulders to frame his large form before pooling on the floor around him.
Kenshin just gave him a look, to which Hiko responded with his usual torture-the-baka-deshi smirk. Carefully sitting up, Kenshin noted the tight bandage on his shoulder under his gi. Gingerly straightening his clothing with the opposite hand, he took a seat across from his master, the fire flickering between them. He blinked at the flames, shaking his head to clear it. He was still slightly groggy.
They sat in silence for a while. Hiko ladled out some hot soup, which Kenshin gratefully took with a slight bow. When he was almost done with the contents of his bowl, his master spoke up, abrupt as always.
"So are you going to tell me what happened while I was on temporary vacation? I must say that whatever you did caused quite a mess in my forest. I'll be cleaning up for weeks." The older master said gruffly, looking irritated.
Kenshin shifted uncomfortably, squirming slightly. He set his bowl aside, collected his thoughts, and began to speak, recounting the events of the last days, in exact detail. Hiko remained impassive, allowing him to finish without interruption. He took a sip of his sake, which had been hand delivered by a very remorseful Hashimoto-san just a few hours ago. (The man had apologized so much that Hiko wasn't able to get rid of him for a good 40 minutes after that).
*
The recitation wound to a close. Hiko finally looked up, his expression bored. "So, what are you current objectives?" He asked, appearing completely unconcerned about the answer.
Kenshin shifted around some more, folding his hands in his lap. "There are a few things I need to take care of in Kyoto tomorrow. I'll contact the Oniwabanshu to help with the clean up. They'll smooth out the details and put things into their appropriate places."
Himura's hands fiddled nervously in his lap. "After that I'd better head back to Tokyo. I've got a lot of explaining to do." He swallowed, sweating slightly.
Hiko's smirk widened, a hint of white glittering in the firelight. "Afraid of a bokken wielding girl, baka deshi?" He taunted, causing Kenshin to flush and squirm. Kenshin looked up, a slightly rueful amusement in his eyes. "No, of the temper behind the weapon and the strength of the swing, and she's not my only worry." He said, his smile wry as he thought of a row of angry faces.
Hiko raised a sardonic eyebrow, but didn't comment. They sat for a while in a comfortable silence.
Then Hiko chuckled. Kenshin looked up from the flames, his expression inquisitive but wary. What was so funny? Still chuckling, Hiko caught his eye and explained.
"Did you really sneak into their camp like a ninja and scare the spit out of them with that lame 'Leave now, before it's too late' line?"
Kenshin flushed, ducking his head in embarrassment. He sputtered something like it seeming like a good idea at the time.
By now, Hiko's shoulders were quivering. He clutched his sides in a futile effort to keep them from shaking with his laughter. Finally giving it up as a futile effort, he doubled over, laughing helplessly. Collapsing onto his back, his feet narrowly missing the fire, he managed between guffaws to sputter out to his flabbergasted student. "Why didn't you just dress up in a hooded robe, clank around a ringed staff, and say 'I AM TSI TSENG, THE END IS HERE!'?"
Kenshin was bright red, this time in humiliated indignation as he sourly observed his laughing mentor. "I'd like to see You do better in that situation." He muttered sulkily, crossing his arms and pouting.
Hiko laughed like he hadn't in years. The tension of the past week seemed to drain out of him. It was just so typically like his stupid little pupil. Gasping for air, he managed to sit partly up, his smirk having evolved into a full grin.
Hiko went on, barely warmed up. He was engaged in one of his favorite sports. Torture the Deshi. With each volley, Kenshin got redder, and more mortified.
"I'll never let you forget this one. This is even better than the time you . . ."
"Shishou!"
"After all those tricks you played, maybe I should call you 'Tengu deshi'.
"Shishou!!"
"I can just imagine you flitting through the trees like a demented squirrel. You must have thought you were so clever when you. . ."
**
In the surrounding forest, the wildlife was finally beginning to settle down after the strange week full of unsettling sounds and smells.
Those nearest a little hut built in a small clearing looked up, ears perked up in interest at the steadily increasing volume of voices.
One voice was raised in the plaintive tones of someone who had gone through a lifetime of being a target for constant verbal abuse.
The other followed in the mocking tones of the one who had spent that same amount of time deriving amusement from exasperating the other.
"SHISHOU!!!"
"DESHI!!"
***
The next morning, Kenshin stood outside his master's hut, the scene reminding him of a similar farewell just before that memorable fight near Kyoto not that long ago.
Hiko had regained his usual humor, helped along by his bout of laughter the previous night. Both of them stood there silently for a moment.
"Well? Get going." Hiko said gruffly, breaking the silence. Kenshin's amethyst eyes met dark onyx ones, and nodded. Few words were needed. Each more or less understood the other. Kenshin . . . maybe a little more than before. Tearing his eyes away from his master and childhood home, he turned, ready to leave when Hiko's voice stopped him.
"By the way-" the older man said, and as Kenshin looked back curiously, he found that the smirk had been replaced by a disapproving scowl. Kenshin started to sweat.
Hiko regarded him narrowly, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his head tilted to the side as if considering going on. He finally shrugged.
"After your first little disappearing act-" he said, pausing long enough to let Kenshin squirm "-I found myself having some rather strange dreams on occasion; of situations I'd never been in, and of people and battles I'd never seen."
He paused again, then continued, affecting the air of lecturing he often used. "Since the beginnings of Hiten Mitsurugi, there have always been two. The master, and his pupil. The type of one on one our style requires at times develops rather strong spiritual ties between the two." Hiko fixed the confused Kenshin with a glare. "-Which means, that all those bad nights I've had in the past two decades are YOUR fault." He said, snapping the words out.
Kenshin could only stare back, slack-jawed and too preoccupied with the new information to protest his innocence. On the surface, his master's reasoning sounded ludicrous. However, being who he was, he couldn't help but feel guilty at the idea that he'd been causing the other such discomfort without even knowing it. Not to mention the fact that it meant that his master had somehow seen what were probably quite a few of his less prouder moments. He swallowed nervously.
Hiko noted the slightly glazed look on his former pupil's face. Deciding against smacking him back to reality for the moment, he cleared his throat to regain the boy's attention and continued, his eyes thoughtful.
"Added to that, there is the fact that the technique is traditionally supposed to be passed completely at the master's death at the hand's of his pupil." His smile was wry. "The theoretical tie between them should naturally be broken in that supreme act. Never in the history of Hiten Mitsurugi have two masters existed at one time for more than a few seconds." Sharp eyes surveyed Kenshin. "Until now." he added meaningfully.
Kenshin didn't have a response to that, so Hiko plowed on ahead. "With two masters, the link would only be strengthened. Which is why you were able to sense my . . . that I was engaged in battle." He corrected his sentence rather hastily, looking momentarily non-plussed at his near admission. The rare sight caused Kenshin, despite his stunned state, to carefully conceal the rather suicidal urge to grin.
"Anyway-" his master was saying, easily transferring his discomfort into irritation as he glared at the younger man "-the bottom line here is that you'd better stay out of trouble. Disturb my sleep again with another of your little spats, and you had better start running before I arrive. If I have to come all the way to Tokyo to LODGE a complaint, you'll regret it." He finished, his voice having an unmistakable note of doom in it, and leaving no doubt of the sincerity of his statement.
Kenshin looked sheepish, but finally let his smile show. "Does this mean that you'll be coming to visit?" He asked, eyes wide and innocent. Hiko sputtered for a moment, then fell silent. He had been surprised. A rare feat, indeed.
Visibly gathering his dignity about him, he finally flung up his hands in feigned disgust at all baka deshis in general, turning quickly so that his expression wouldn't give him away.
"Well, what are you standing around for? Get off my mountain already." He said gruffly, his back still turned. He started to stomp toward his hut. "I have better things to do than talk to someone without enough brains to . . ." His voice quickly faded to half-heard mutters as he reached the hut. Pausing at the doorway, he lifted the cloth blocking the entrance. Just before it fell his dark-haired head turned slightly, affording Kenshin a brief glimpse of one ebony eye glittering behind the long fringe of his bangs. Then the rough cloth fell back into place, a thin but visible barrier between them.
Kenshin just stood there, staring in amazed disbelief at the structure before him. Finally he seemed to come to himself, turned and started to make his way back down the path leading away from that small clearing and the shabby hut sitting quietly in the middle of it. He walked away from the place where he had grown up, trying to persuade himself as to whether or not the look of pride and approval he'd seen in that frozen moment had been real.
**
The breeze ruffled his bright hair, and the sounds of the forest surrounded him as paced forward. Lifting his face, Kenshin let the soothing sensations wash over him.
There was still much to sort out, particularly with his own feelings. Soon he would be headed for his new home, where he had no doubt a rather painful welcome awaited him. He smiled ruefully. He would do his best to apologize for taking off without warning by himself, but he knew that he would say nothing of his master's need. He would keep the older man's dignity intact. He owed that much and more to him.
Kenshin loved his friends dearly, and would always be the first to jump to their defense. They were as near and dear to him as any had ever gotten. However, no matter how close they were, there were some aspects of his nature that only another Hiten Mitsurugi master would be able to understand, much less accept. His past, for one, in all its complete and bleak detail. And most important of all, the vow to help the people and to cherish life in all its forms. Both concepts could easily clash, as he had found out, the hard way.
Suffice it to say, that for all their seemingly opposite personalities and differences, they both knew and understood the other. Hiko had raised Kenshin, and taught him a way of looking at things that was uniquely their own.
For his friends, and himself, he would live the life of Himura Kenshin, a former assassin and peace-loving warrior.
But there would always and forever be a core part of him that would ever respond to his master as the often exasperated, but loyal, deshi. Some ties, can never be broken.
----------------------
Well, did you like it? A bit corny, but that's all right. Sometimes, that's the only way you can do something like this. I couldn't resist teasing that teasing scene. It was just so typical of their relationship.
Tsi Tseng: From Japanese mythology. Supposedly a priest/monk that travels the underworld, easing the suffering of the dead there. He carries around a ringed staff (Khakkhara), announcing his presence by the sound of them clashing together. The legend varies as to who he/she is. The rings can vary from 4, 6, or even 12. Also called the Narn-staff.
Tengu: a forest spirit, part man, part bird. It lives in trees and is known for mischief. Infamous for their trickery, they don't like being tricked in turn.
If there are any loose ends I forgot to tie up, or if you think it would have been fun to go a certain way, please tell me. I know I missed a few things and it would be fun to know how you'd have done it. Who knows, maybe I'll write the ones I like up and present them as alternate chapters? ~_~
This isn't all, folks. There's a little epilogue that you might enjoy too.^_^